1927: Redemption

Adeline’s Plan

“After the blackness of night, Earth's star rises on the horizon, spreading her gold in every direction. She comes in the way that natural forces do, needing no invitation yet feeling her welcome. The light is her gift, bold and free, for anyone who cares to open their eyes in the dawn and watch the world awake. This is our sun, a fire ignited to bring warmth to the creation and inspire us to seek our own beauty within.”

2021- DECEMBER- CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA

Upon this sleepless night, there is a chance to tune in to the quietness of night and feel the starlight that illuminates such a velvet sky. Beyond this chamber of worry, there was an entire world, and in that realisation she could find her stillness, find a reason to put these worries in perspective, to adapt and overcome. Her purpose was bigger than these passing concerns.

When the clock ticked at four in the morning, Adeline quietly moved out of the bed, without a sound of a creek. The nightmare of her grandfather’s death scared her again, and she took it as an early warning of not including anybody in the task she got from her grandfather.

Nothing would be able to shake the frightening scene of seeing her grandfather lying dead on a floor, even if it had happened five years back.

Tears were burning her eyes, and she was still having a little trouble breathing properly as quietly slipped from the room. Making her way towards Ace’s room, Adeline took a deep breath in as she was going to do something which he obviously did not know and Adeline did not want him in her journey ahead.

Sure, he knew what Adeline had to do, but he quite did not know that she was not supposed to go in 1998 to stop her father from going back in time. Rather, Adeline was supposed to go a little more back to return a very important belonging to someone.

Well, who was this someone?

Yes, after knowing it she was shocked, and thought- Woah! That's quite hard. But, isn’t what she was doing already hard?

Taking a deep breath in, Adeline entered Ace’s room where he was soundly asleep. She crept over to the bed Ace was sprawled out on and bent down beside him, reaching out a hesitant hand to proms him awake.

He gave a grunt a moment later. “What?”

“Ace?” Adeline whispered.

“Adeline?”

Ace propped himself up on an elbow and she could dimly see the contours of his face in the glow the lights in the stairwell were giving off.

“What are you doing?” Ace asked, his sleep lace voice sounding a bit pissed off.

Adeline took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from trembling. “I… uh…” Her other hand reached out into the pocket for the handkerchief.

He raised an eyebrow, asking her to continue. “You?”

“Thank you but I need to do this alone.”

Before Ace could react and despite him having quick reflexes, Adeline pressed the handkerchief full of chloroform against his nostrils, which knocked him out almost instantly.

She stood up and tucked him with the duvet, saying, “I cannot risk your life more, Ace. You have done enough for me.”

Saying that she strolled out of his room, took downstairs towards the kitchen and got into her coat. Adeline quietly opened the back door of the coffee house and moved out of it.

.

.

.

At this early hour, it was impossible for her to catch a ride, and that was the reason she walked all the way from the coffee house to her apartment which lost its homey feeling since he left.

Or did he actually leave?

Shaking off the unwanted thoughts, Adeline immediately unlocked the door, entered her apartment and ran towards her room. It was 4:45 in the morning and she had to catch a flight to Miami at six. Not much time did she have it at hand.

Well, she changed herself into comfortable clothing, took her passport, her bags were ready, everything was packed and the last thing she needed to do was… burn the least amount of traces left in the letters and reports her grandfather left for her.

And, you might be thinking, when did she do all of this?

Adeline Rose Martinez had not been relying on Ace all the time. She had a plan of her own which obviously did not include him, when she went to meet Dr Carter before Ace's accident and after her beasts’ departure, she read everything- every piece of writing that James left for her to read and accomplish. She made a plan and booked her tickets.

Surprisingly, until now, Adeline had not seen any problem. Or were those problems already tackled? It was still a question for her. She was continuously having a thought of how everything could become smooth? Because this ride was not supposed to be smooth, was it just the starting?

Adeline moved into her dad’s secret condo where the documents were kept safely. She picked the three letters that she was going to need in her journey and the rest was supposed to be burnt, and that was what she did exactly.

“Game on.”

Saying that, Adeline picked her duffel bag, and moved out of her apartment, taking in the last look at her family’s apartment, Adeline said, “I really when I come back, everything will be changed.”

Sighing a breath, she turned around and in a moment, she had been cast in crimson, bathed in a rosy glow; how the sun gave each dawn without even the asking or the earning of the light. Adeline absentmindedly moved her fingers through the air that grew brighter with each passing moment until it became a new bold day. Even in winter, as she watched her breath rise skyward, and she felt the promise of the gentle spring passing into blood and bone, becoming a deeper part of who she was.

Not wasting another single second, Adeline flagged down a cab as her hand grasped the cab door and clambered into the cab, slamming the door shut after her.

Adeline slunk down in her seat after giving the gruff-looking cab driver her destination and sighed heavily.

So far, this had been the most she had ever done in a day before.

She actually made a plan for herself, went to book the tickets. She met Dr Carter and ended the visiting cycle. Knocked Ace out. Burnt the very last piece of information. And, now she was on the way to her destination.

But, now the hardest part would start. Three portals, three locations, three things, three days, one Adeline and millions of unforeseen dangers lurking behind the shadows- yet no guarantee that she would be successful, Adeline realised- in the process. She discovered in the deal that she made with Ace five years ago, it was not just a deal, he actually tried making everything difficult for her, in the beginning, to get in comfort with difficulties, keeping aside the thoughts of how he got himself involved with James and all, but now Adeline understood that what Ace really tried to teach her five years back was to try and make her own decisions, which got hampered by William at some extent.

But, now, the roles were reversed, it was William who wanted her to take decisions, make plans, and Ace to help.

Quite ironic!

And to top it all off, Adeline was beginning to realise that she might be two steps ahead of Ace but not Archer and maybe William went away to fix it.

Going back in time to meet the most controversial figure of history- this hands down going to be one of the hardest things she was ever going to do.

Yay for Adeline.

Who was this controversial man in history?

How did he have a part in any of this?

What was written in those three letters?

What are these three locations and tasks?

Will the beast help her?